Former Oakland Raiders TE Christensen dead at 57

(Reuters) – Former Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys football player Todd Christensen has died at a Utah hospital due to complications from surgery, Brigham Young University and several media outlets reported on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old had battled liver diseases and other serious illnesses, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

“Todd Christensen passed away this morning due to complications from surgery,” the athletics department at Brigham Young, his alma mater, said in a Twitter post.

Christensen, who later became a sports commentator for NBC and the Mountain West Sports Network, was best known as a tight end for the Oakland Raiders, the newspaper said.

He spent his college career as a star player for BYU and was then drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.

According to the NFL website, he joined the Raiders in 1982 and was named to the Pro Bowl five times. He was also a two-time Super Bowl champion for both the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, it said.